


Scare

by notgood23



Series: Ninjago Father!AU Collection [9]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fatherhood, Fluff, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notgood23/pseuds/notgood23
Summary: He swore these girls were going to be the death of him.
Series: Ninjago Father!AU Collection [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818262
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	Scare

Cole swore, once all this was over, he was going to call his dad and apologize for all the heart attacks he ever gave him as a kid because standing out in the backyard he couldn't help but feel the exact same way.

It all started when Cole was preparing dinner. The cooler months were starting to set in, so he opted to make chicken soup that evening. He began to cut up the vegetables, preparing them for the boiling pot on the stove. All he could hear was his chopping.

_Wait a minute. That's the only thing he could hear._

He stopped, listening. The house was unusually….quiet. And if he knew when to start checking up on his girls, it was when he couldn't hear anything from them. They were always talking, or laughing, or to his dismay, screaming unnecessarily. But this time, nothing.

"Girls?" he called out.

No response.

Sliding the vegetables off of his cutting board and into the pot with his knife, he set away the board, and lowered the heat.

He walked out of the kitchen into the living room, then into their bedroom, only to find that they were not there. Picking up his pace, he made his way to the back of the house and opened the door to the backyard to see Eleni, laying on her stomach on the cement floor of the back porch. Upon hearing the door open, she stopped messing with the toy car she was playing with.

Cole, relieved, looked around for Nina. Except he didn't see her.

"Eleni," he said slowly, "where is your sister?"

Eleni stood up, looking around, then settling her eyes on the big tree in their small backyard. She pointed at the leafy oak. "In the tree."

"Daddy!" a voice called out.

"Nina?", said Cole, walking over to the tree. He couldn't see her.

"Daddy! I'm up here!"

Cole looked up. He immediately felt sick. His daughter was a little past halfway up the tree. It wasn't too tall, but it certainly was high enough for her to get hurt if she fell. Trying to keep the panic out of his voice, he took a deep breath.

"How did you get up there.." he swallowed, "honey?"

Eleni piped up beside him. "The chair!", she said pointing.

Cole looked at the chair and groaned. It was just tall enough for his daughter to climb onto the tree with. "Alright Nina, it's time to come down now, okay?"

He looked back up just to see Nina readjust her grip on the branch she was sitting on. She moved her leg over, and when she couldn't touch the branch beneath her, she pulled herself back up. "I can't….I'm scared."

Cole started to panic a bit. "That's okay honey," he quickly looked at one of the branches closest to the ground. "I'll climb up and help you, don't worry."

Nina looked like she might cry.

Cole turned back to Eleni. "Neni, go sit over there, okay?"

Eleni quickly nodded and ran back to the porch, and picked the toy car back up and started playing with it again.

Cole grabbed a branch closest to him, and heaved himself on top of it. The branches of the tree were spread out, and almost served like a ladder. No wonder Nina was able to climb so high.

He climbed until he was just below her. Nina had her eyes shut, holding onto the branch. Cole began to speak softly, trying to calm her down. "Hey, everything's going to be alright. I'm going to help you get down."

"I don't want to fall," she squeaked.

"I promise I won't let you fall, Honey. Daddy would never let anything hurt you." he reassured. "I'm going to tell you where to put your feet, okay? That way you can climb back down."

Nina tried again, swinging her leg over the branch. Cole helped guide her foot to another branch nearby, watching her every move. "Careful, Nina."

She replaced her foot, before the sole of her shoe slipped, causing her foot to slip right off the branch.

Cole immediately sprung into action, letting his arm hook around her middle, his other arm hanging onto the branch above.

Nina gave a frightened whimper.

"I got you Honey. It's okay, we're almost down, grab back onto the branch."

Cole carefully helped her down, with Nina quickly lowering herself down as she gained more confidence. He lowered himself onto the ground, his heart still beating. He reached up, pulling Nina back into his arms before placing her on the ground.

"Yay! We got back down!" he exclaimed.

"Daddy…"

Cole looked back to Nina. "What's wrong?"

"I got a boo boo."

"Don't worry, I can make it allllllll better." he said, taking her by the hand. "Come on Neni we're going inside!"

* * *

Cole finished disinfecting Nina's scrape on her arm, as she and Eleni sat on the toilet lid, very content with their lollipops. He placed a bandage over it before pressing a kiss.

"Better?"

"Better."

He sat back on the tile floor. "Now girls, what did we learn?"

"Don't climb too high," said Nina.

"Don't climb trees," said Eleni.

Cole laughed.

* * *

Eleni was his baby, that much he's always known. She and Nina might be the same age, but Eleni was definitely the baby. Ever since they were in diapers, she had always been the fussy one. Constantly crying, only sleeping in his arms, but that was okay.

Now that she was older, she certainly cried a lot less, but she was very quiet, always holding onto Cole's hand in public places. But like he said, that was okay. She was his baby, after all.

They had ventured out to the mall that day, Cole hoping to get his daughters some new shoes before their first day of kindergarten next month. He held both of their hands as he led them into the department store inside. _There sure are a lot of people today,_ he thought.

"Stay close to me okay?" he said, reminding them, "You don't want to get lost." Cole weaved he and his daughters through the people walking by, catching sight of the shoe department.

Once they reached the little girls' shoes, he let go of both their hands. "Alright girls, show me one you like, that way I can look for it in your size. But remember, stay close to me." They all stood together looking around the aisle, until Nina caught sight of a pair of white tennis shoes with a glittery unicorn on them. She pulled one out, showing it to Cole. "Daddy I want these ones!"

"See? Not that hard. Now to try and find the right size…"

"I'll help you!" said Nina, following him to the end of the aisle.

Eleni remained standing in the middle of the aisle. She walked all the way towards the other end, opposite Cole and her sister, looking at all the shoes. Until something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She turned to see a tall pair of shiny red high-heeled shoes on the larger display tables. She ran over, looking at the shoes.

"Wow." she said, looking all around her at the grown up-shoes. She walked around, looking at all the shoes before beginning to walk out into the rest of the store. Eleni admired all the pretty dresses and shirts all around her.

Except, when she turned around, she couldn't see Nina anymore. Or Daddy. She walked around once again, as she slowly began to realize she was lost.

What if they left without her? What if she couldn't find Daddy anymore? What if she never saw Nina again? Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Daddy!" she cried. Eleni looked around to no avail. So she stood there, and began to cry.

* * *

"Found 'em!" Cole said, finally finding Nina's shoes in the right size. He handed the shoebox to Nina. "Hold onto those, okay?"

Nina nodded.

"Alright Baby, your turn." he said, turning back to look down the aisle. Except Eleni wasn't there. "Neni?" he called, looking around. "Neni, baby, if you're hiding come out please."

No answer.

"Daddy?" Nina said, pulling at his pant leg.

Cole wordlessly grabbed his daughter's hand, walking out of the aisle. "Eleni!" The other people turned to look at him, but he could barely care at all at that moment.

"Daddy.."

Nina was getting scared. So was he. He kept moving, looking frantically for his daughter. His heart started to race. _What was she even wearing? How was he going to describe to someone how she looked like when he couldn't even re-_

"Excuse me," a hand was placed onto his shoulder, bringing him back down to Earth. "Is she yours?"

"Daddy!" Eleni jumped out, hugging his legs.

"Eleni!"

Cole knelt down, holding his daughter tight. "What did I tell you, baby? Don't ever _ever_ scare me like that again." He stood, immediately grabbing the hand of the man who had brought his daughter to him, shaking it vigorously. "Oh thank you, thank-"

He had never seen such blue eyes in his entire life.

The stranger finished his thought for him. "You're very welcome. She is a very smart girl. She said your name was...Cole?"

Cole let go of his hand. "Yeah, and you are-?

"My name is Zane."

Cole mentally blocked the blush that wanted to spread across his cheeks. "I really really cannot thank you enough. Maybe I could repay you...somehow?"

* * *

"And get this, he gave me his _number_."

Cole heard his dad practically grin as he spoke to him over the phone. "Ah, Cole, looks like you found your daughter and a _special someone_." Cole responded with a groan.

That reminded Cole of something. "Hey, Dad."

"Hm?"

"I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for scaring you so much growing up." He laughed. "These girls are going to be the _death_ of me."


End file.
